Elite Louisiana LB Jaiden Ausberry commits to Notre Dame

Midway through the summer, Jaiden Ausberry realized he was ready to push forward with his decision.

The On3 Consensus top-10 linebacker from The Boot committed to Notre Dame on Thursday just as his high school team opened fall camp and attempts to repeat as Division II state champions. Ausberry also had Michigan, Texas A&M and Auburn caps on the table. LSU, Alabama and Florida were also in consideration for the four-star hybrid defender from Baton Rouge (La.) University Lab.

Marcus Freeman was recruiting Ausberry as the Irish’s defensive coordinator and linebackers coach last season. He was also a significant reason why the four-star linebacker continued to make the visit up to South Bend, which only furthered his interest.

“I have a lot of relationships up there and I’ve been knowing them for a long time. It’s a family atmosphere and fulfilled exactly what I’m looking for on and off the field and after football,” Ausberry told On3. “They put a lot of people in the league and Coach Freeman is a good defensive mind. I know he’s gonna take care of me up there.”

“When we first met last summer, we clicked immediately and we built that relationship because he was the linebackers coach and DC,” he continued. “As the head coach, we already knew each other. He’s close to my mom and my dad and my brother because he recruited him, too, and he’s like family to us and that meant a lot to me.”

Ausberry adds to special 2023 class

Ausberry dived head first into his official visits in June with four stops at Auburn, Michigan, Texas A&M, and, of course, Notre Dame. Louisiana’s No. 7-rated player was originally eyeing a December commitment, but another visit back to the campus in June moved the Irish into the driver’s seat with Ausberry, who credited not only coaches like Al Golden, Al Washington and Chad Bowden, but current players on the roster.

“Every time we went up there for a visit, there was always something new and I could really see myself up there,” Ausberry said. “The second visit really did it for me, especially spending most of the time around the players. On the official visit and I realized, ‘Hey, this might be the place.’ They have the brand; everyone knows who Notre Dame is. You’re gonna be known; the fan base is really passionate and they love their players. They take care of their student-athletes up there, especially football players on and off the field, and if I go there and graduate I’ll be set up for the future.”

Ausberry is the latest blue-chipper to add to an already star-studded collection of players committed to the Irish in 2023, which includes five-stars Keon Keeley and Peyton Bowen, among others. Fittingly, Ausberry bolsters Freeman’s inaugural recruiting haul as Notre Dame’s head coach.

“I really felt the love on the official visit with all the commits up there and I was one of the few other uncommitted people,” he recounted. “There’s such a family atmosphere. I think we’re gonna have one of the best classes ever and I think we’re gonna win a national championship under Coach Freeman.”

Ausberry’s father, Verge, played linebacker for LSU in the late 1980s. His older brother, Austin, is entering his freshman season as a defensive back at Auburn. He is the nation’s No. 117 overall player regardless of position on the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.